OIYP Voice
July 2005: Make Poverty History Campaign
FOCUS
This month’s focus will be on the Make Poverty History Campaign. All over the world this year, Oxfam and numerous other groups are mobilizing in the effort to work positively towards achieving the Millenium Development Goals. The main elements of the campaign are geared towards canceling third-world debt, making international trade rules fair and providing more aid in areas of greatest need. There are hundreds of ways in which individuals and groups can become involved – and hundreds of ways in which IYP Action Partners are already working towards these same goals.
Third-world debt is a major issue delaying the progress of many countries towards achieving the Millenium Development Goals. When financial aid was sought by poorer nations to assist development in the first half of the 20th century, there was no sign of the interest rate surge of the 1960s and 1970s which would cause many countries to owe far more than their original loan, even after years of repayments. The recent G7 agreement to cancel the debt of 18 countries is a large step in the right direction, but there are still too many nations suffering under a heavy financial burden. Damaging and unrealistic demands made by lenders in return for the financial assistance given has exacerbated the problem.
So stringent have been the demands of donors that a World Bank boycott is currently in force. Many developing nations feel that their ability to plot their own development path has been annexed by donors and there has been a subsequent backlash. With similar policies to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund demands that recipient countries launch reforms such as the flattening of the tax curve, so that the poor are taxed more and the rich taxed less. Argentina was considered by the IMF to be a model country in its compliance to IMF policy proposals, but experienced a catastrophic economic crisis in 2001, generally believed to be caused by IMF-imposed budget restrictions.
Zambiais another country which has been deeply affected by such policies and by increasing levels of debt. In 2004, the Zambian government used 7.35% of its GDP (US$377 million) in debt repayment. This was twice the amount spent on education, despite the fact that Zambia is desperately short of teachers, as roughly half of the teachers trained every year die of AIDS. Although Zambia is one of the nations to which the G7 group has agreed to grant debt relief, this proposal still has to be ratified by the Group of Eight. And there are many other countries in a similar position to Zambia which have not been granted debt relief, as this proposal concerns only the 18 countries worst affected by their mounting financial commitments.
The Make Poverty History campaign is a vital step towards achieving the Millenium Development Goals. Without the support of individuals and groups the world over, current inequalities will be exacerbated and these goals will not be met. IYP Action Partners are among those committed to bringing about positive change, working towards the MDGs and thereby working for a more equitable world.
Next month’s focus will be on issues of Peace and Conflict. Many OIYP Action Partners are affected by the numerous conflicts being carried on in the world today and, just as significantly, OIYP Action Partners are working to promote peace and healing in the face of such conflicts. If you have a story to tell of your involvement either in conflict or in peace-building, we would be very interested to hear it. Email any of you ideas or articles to iypvoice@caa.org.
See August’s Voice to read more about the great work of OIYP Action Partners in this area!
We hope you enjoy this issue.
The OIYP Voice Team
Editor: Catherine Loy
ACTION PARTNER NEWS
Read about the work of our Action Partners around the world.
LawrenceNodua
IYP 2004 Action Partner, Solomon Islands.
My project will be training teachers with a human rights approach and standards, as they are in the front line in education. Giving them the right message will help in disseminating the information.
Apart from that am the co-ordinator of the community based disaster project. My role is training community trainers with disaster issues and of course liase with national disaster management here in the Solomon Islands.
I'm very happy to be part of the Oxfam Action Partners. I'm also the team leader for the Solomon Islands action partners and my role is to mobilise the partners together and talk about issues that emerge along the line.
I'm looking forward to implementing my project with effective mechanisms to bring about change in the community.
Shasheen Jayaweera
IYP 2004 Action Partner, Australia.
Two weeks ago I was able to implement one of the big action plans I submitted as part of IYP with the help of my project partner and several organizations.
We set up a Pacific network called Youth for a Sustainable Future (YSF) last year, aimed at empowering Pacific youth to work on local community projects in the areas of the UN Millennium Goal targets. We were lucky to have the UN Country team of Samoa take on one of the ideas to host a large Pacific Youth forum on this.
So 2 weeks ago our network (YSF) along with the UN and the Samoan Government brought together 56 youth from 13 Pacific nations for the Pacific Youth MDG Summit and we were able to create solid action plans for the region, a declaration for the UN MDG review and a youth statement on the Pacific Plan.
The outcomes of the forum were:
1) A declaration to the UN MDG review on the recommendations of youth for the MDGs in the Pacific
2) Youth input to the Pacific Plan
3) National MDG tangible Action Plans - this is the bit our organisation (Youth for a Sustainable Future Pacifica) will be responsible for following up. It is similar to IYP action projects. It is also the hardest thing to keep following up on!!!
We are now aiming to register our network YSF as a formal NGO to continue to mentor and help Pacific Youth in implementing MDG projects in the region. We are also going to begin looking for funding for YSF to keep the network going for the delegates and possibly fund their projects too!
For a copy of the Declaration, Media Releases and information on the forum please visit our website: www.peacechild.org/ysf - I hope many of you will find these resources useful.
The media release can also be found at www.peacechild.org/ysf/media1.htm
Finally I owe a huge thanks to everyone at OIYP & Oxfam who supported our efforts on this project. Its times like these I realize how powerful networks like IYP can be! This is not the end of the project but a new beginning.
YSF will also be contacting the IYP Pacific delegates to see if we can offer any help too. We will continue to work on this project for the next few years to ensure the outcomes are acheived!
Duncan Khothatso Moeketse
IYP 2004 Action Partner, South Africa.
Thing are going very well down here in South Africa.
Unfortunately I couldn't go back to the university fulltime due to circumstances beyond my control but I am still corresponding with the University of South Africa and I am also serving with City Year South Africa as a mentor and a tutor to primary school children in the disadvantaged communities in South Africa. And I am also busy with Project Y2Y (Turning the tides against HIV/AIDS) supported by OIYP small grants. The project is strong and very successful, but there is still more to be done.
From June 7 I attended the South African National AIDS conference that was held in Durban. The theme of the conference was UNITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY and the main aim of the conference was to marshal the best of knowledge, practice and research on HIV into further united action and implementation and to spur a new spirit of unity and accountability for all. We had delegates from all over Africa and abroad and much to gain from it and most importantly most of the information disseminated at the conference was relevant to what our project aims to address. Most of the plenary sessions were focused on treatment or the clinical part of HIV/AIDS and usage of microbicides as some of might know that South Africa is one of the countries in the forefront of microbicides research.
Oxfam Australia also organized a post conference training on gender issues and the program included poster presentations from organizations supported by Oxfam or COGENHA (Combined Oxfam Gender and HIV/AIDS) and JOHAP (Joint Oxfam HIV AIDS Programme) in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. CONGENHA is one of the Oxfam initiatives that apparently started in 2002 addressing the role of gender in HIV/AIDS.
The training was basically on finding solutions to gender issues related to HIV/AIDS in our project and how we can advocate for women’s rights and recruit more men in the work we do.
I also had an opportunity to make a presentation on Oxfam IYP and how it has supported Action Partner’s initiatives since the second sitting in Sydney 2004.
So long keep in contact and please do let me know of any volunteer opportunities available to your country because I think there is more I can do to make this world a better place for all.
STORY OF THE MONTH
Our Story of the Month comes from Samantha Mundeta, OIYP 2004 delegate from South Africa, who recently visited Australia to take part in the OIYP Annual Reflection and the Oxfam Australia Annual Reflection. In her article she details the work of the One People Peace Campaign, a project which is developing African pride and unity in order to bring about a resurgence in belief in the power of the African people and the African continent. Much of the attention of the global Make Poverty History campaign has focused upon the problems of the African continent, yet Samantha’s project is designed to emphasise the positive and empowering aspects of Africa.
The One People Peace Campaign is a regional effort being spearheaded by African delegates from the 2004 Oxfam International Youth Parliament (OIYP) in conjunction with the African Youth Initiative Network (AYINET) to promote unity among African people within and between borders as a pre-requisite for peace in Africa. Essentially, it is aimed at cultivating the mindset necessary for the achievement of peace.
This group of action partners recognizes that there is a buzz in Africa, as African are leaders have been setting up structures to make African unity and an African renaissance a reality, but the One People Peace Campaign argues that it is not enough for these concepts to make sense only to heads of state and to remain the exclusive domain of high politik. As former Guinean President Sekou Toure said,
“To take part in the African revolution, it is not enough to write a revolutionary song; you must fashion the revolution with the people. And if you fashion it with the people, the songs will come by themselves and of themselves”
Every African needs to realize that there is power in unity, but for them to appreciate that, there is need to restore pride in who we are as an African people, to give Africans a reason to love the continent and each other, to restore belief in our own capabilities and to celebrate our differences, and use them as sources of strength rather than weakness.
Hence the action partners have begun to engage in activities promoting these values. To launch the Campaign, on the 25th of May this year, several activities were organised in the community in at least 12 African countries to celebrate Africa Day.
For example, in Zambia, an AYINET partner, Bernadette, is having an awareness week involving radio shows engaging young people in her university on Africa Day, and she is also organizing a lecture on peace and the One People Peace Campaign on campus. Another example is an IYP partner in Nigeria, Adaeze, who is organizing an African heritage display at her university, and she is also having an African Consciousness seminar. In Zimbabwe, an IYP partner, Progress, is organizing a music concert in celebration of Africa Day. And the African Youth Parliament is mobilizing radio stations all over Africa to celebrate African music on the 25th of May.
To allow for action partners in this effort to support this cause in ways they best know how, a number of activities are in place that are being worked on by different teams in the network.
For example, a peace album, which will be contributed to by young people from the 6 regions of Africa (according to the Africa Union’s definition of African regions i.e. Northern, Southern, Eastern, Central, Western, and the African Diaspora) and which will also take into consideration the balance in language representation (i.e. English, French, Arabic, and Portuguese). The group envisages that the project will be completed in time for Africa Day on 25 May 2006.
Another team is working on the documentation of African achievements which are rarely highlighted, since the media always focuses on the negative aspects of Africa. This effort is intended to result in the compilation of a publication celebrating what Africa has to offer, with the intention of inspiring and motivating, to make Africans realize what we are capable of doing and to revive belief in these capabilities. It is also intended to instil pride in being African, and reinforce African identity.
Yet another team is working on a Peace Video, the idea being to increase in-depth knowledge and understanding of Africa’s current situation (continental and global trends) with the goal of empowering Africa’s populace and future leadership with important information for when they occupy decision-making positions.
There is also team in the process of strategizing on how to unroll African Consciousness Workshops on different youth platforms on a regional scale. While another team is setting up an internship and exchange program to make opportunities available to young people who desire to be exposed to realities different from those in their own countries thus gaining a better understanding of what is really happening in other countries and more working experience.
We have also compiled a reading list available to people in our network in order to fight ignorance and apathy to the history of our continent and the situation of other African countries, and hopefully when we get the resources to set up a website for the campaign, this information will be available for all young people who are passionate about Africa.
The group believes that it would be a very positive development for the Campaign if more like-minded youths and youth organizations across the continent joined the effort, as unity and cooperation among Africa’s youth would send across a strong message of how ethnic, linguistic, geographical and cultural barriers can be overcome to achieve a common purpose.
UMOJA! ONE PEOPLE!
OIYP MESSAGE BOARD
From the OIYP Team in Sydney
To reach the OIYP Team in Sydney, please email info@iyp.oxfam.org or for Action Support please email iypaction@caa.org.au
One Year Since OIYP2004!
It’s been one year since OIYP2004. To celebrate we have produced a document outlining the achievements of the past year and the plans for the year to come. All action partners should have received this document. If you didn’t please email iypaction@oxfam.org.au. Or see it online at www.iyp.oxfam.org/news/1yranniv
New Website!
Check it out at www.iyp.oxfam.org.
Gender Skills Share
The topic for the Skills Centre this month is on Gender! An online skills share on this important topic will be held on the OIYP Forum from July 25 to August 14. It will look at many of the practical & conceptual questions and issues raised when working on projects & give an opportunity to share experiences in addressing these. For more information look at the www.iyp.oxfam.org/skillsor email iypskills@oxfam.org.au
NETWORK AND TAKE ACTION
OIYP Make Poverty History Campaign Coalition
This year is crucial; events including the G8 summit in July, Millennium Plus 5 Summit in September and the WTO (World Trade Organisation) ministerial in December have brought together a range of organisations, faith groups and celebrities to form the MAKE POVERTY HISTORYcampaign. These groups are united by a common belief that 2005 offers an unprecedented opportunity for a global movement against poverty.
What can you do about it?
Get involved in the OIYP Make Poverty History Campaign Coalition. Across the OIYP network, people are going to be making a stand about the impact of trade, debt and aid on their communities and their work. By being part of the coalition you can:
· Take action in the campaign to MAKE POVERTY HISTORY;
· better understand how your local work is affected by international trade, and structures of debt and aid;
· provide you with links to other organisations working on the MAKE POVERTY HISTORY campaign in your own country and region;
· develop your campaigning and advocacy skills
E-mail clairep@caa.org.auto register your interest.
How does it work?
Over 5 months leading to the WTO in December Action Partners interested in participating will receive a campaign kit which contains theoretical and practical training in topics related to international trade, human rights and advocacy. The kit also includes activities designed identify how trade impacts on your work and communities as well as assisting you to coordinate national days of action prior to and during the WTO Ministerial in Hong Kong. The first week of December is your chance to display how trade, debt and aid affect your communities.
Who is it for?
Forming an OIYP coalition is all about you linking your work to the broader campaign in whatever way it is relevant to you! It is ideal for young activists working on projects related to most areas of development including agriculture, HIV/AIDS, education, basic social services and human rights. Moreover, ALL young activists should find the campaign kit relevant as the training modules focus on international campaigning and advocacy techniques and can be implemented in other international campaigns.
Take advantage of the network…
A group of 25 action partners actively engaged in trade justice campaigning have already been selected to work in a special program, OIYP Trade Justice Project. This project will run along side the OIYP Make Poverty History Campaign Coalition and will include an on-line skills session in October where you can discuss your campaigns and events with the OIYP Trade Justice team. By communicating with them you will be learning and gaining advanced knowledge on international campaigning techniques.
Your projects and opinions on these issues are crucial and will be documented in a booklet produced by OIYP next year.
Don’t miss this opportunity of being part of this exciting global campaign to eradicate poverty!
E-mail clairep@caa.org.auto register your interest or see www.iyp.oxfam.org/news/campaign.
JULY FEATURE
Our July Feature is an article on the Trade Justice Project by project coordinator Sanushka Mudaliar.
With thanks to Bill Code for his assistance with this article.
Background to the OIYP Trade Justice Project 2005
The efforts of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty Coalition to pressure the G-8 group of industrialised nations to drop the debts of the world’s poorest nations, provide more and better aid and make trade fair have rekindled interest in fighting global poverty.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is holding its 6th Ministerial meeting in Hong Kong in December.WTO agreements structure the international trading system, and have a significant impact on the lives and livelihoods of billions of people. The WTO is criticised for implementing a trade process that is in favor ofindustrialisedcountries and transnational corporate interests. WTO Members are finding it difficult to reach consensus and developing countries are speaking out against the strong-arm tactics that have been used against them.
The months leading up to this meeting present an opportunity to de-mystify the trade debate and communicate the consequences of the unfair trading system for developing countries and the struggle for trade justice. For this reasonthe OIYP Trade Justice project has been initiated. It provides training in trade campaigning and human rights advocacy and supports participants to implement action plans on trade issues. It willfocus on the impact of agricultural trade agreements on rural communities, and access to medicines under the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS).
Project Participants
We selected 26 young people from 19 countries including IYP2000 and IYP2004 Action Partner as well as others who applied independently. All the participants are working in their local communities on projects relating to agricultural issues or HIV/AIDS, or are trade justice campaigners.
Project Update
The Trade Justice project has three components: Training, Local Trade Action Plan Implementation and International Linkages.
Training Courses (August to September)
The project begins with an online training course for four weeks starting in August. This will provide an introduction to international trade, human rights and campaigning and advocacy. Participants will analyse the impact of international trade on their communities and work, and begin planning their local Trade Action Plans.
This will be followed by a two week face-to-face workshop held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The workshop will focus on advocacy techniques and training in rights-based approaches to development work and campaigning. It will include strategy sessions for participants to finalise their Action Plans. We are planning to include field visits, prominent local speakers and other activities.
The training materials for the project will be available on the OIYP website.
Local Trade Action Plan Implementation (October-December and on-going)
Participants will implement a local Trade Action Plan after the Cambodia workshop in partnership with local community organisations. These Action Plans will be based on the local impact of international trade and the specific trade issues facing their country. OIYP will continue to support participants in the action component of the project through-out 2006.
Linking the local to the international… the WTO Ministerial in Hong Kong (December 2005) and the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto (August 2006)
Participants working on HIV/AIDS issues will work with the Global Youth Coalition on AIDS (GYCA) on the XVI International AIDS Conference to be held in Toronto in August 2006. This conference will be an opportunity for young people to speak out about the impact of intellectual property rules on access to medicines in the developing world.
Participants working on agricultural issues will participate in a workshop on Youth and Trade which will be hosted Oxfam Hong Kong (OHK) and OIYP in Hong Kong prior to the WTO Ministerial in December 2005. A focus of the conference will be to learn from the Trade Action Plans implemented by participants. After the workshop, participants will join civil society actions and activities held concurrently with the WTO Ministerial.
For more information please contact Sanushka Mudaliar, OIYP Trade Justice Project Coordinator on sanushkam@gmail.com
For more information on…
Trade Justice:
The Oxfam Make Trade Fair Campaign: www.maketradefair.com
Focus on the Global South: www.focusweb.org
The International Agriculture and Trade Policy Institute: www.iatp.org and http://www.tradeobservatory.org
Civil Society organising in the lead-up to the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial:
The Hong Kong People’s Alliance website: www.hkpa-wto.org.
The Global Call to Action Against Poverty website: www.whiteband.org
Resources
The website of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues:
http://www.un.org/esa.socdev/unpfii/4session/4session.htm
The Asia-Pacific Indigenous Youth Network defends and promotes the rights of indigenous peoples in the Asia-Pacific region:
http://www.apiyn.org/home.htm
The website of the International Indigenous Youth Network:
http://www.itv.se/boreale.valkea.htm
The website of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People 1995-2004:
http://www.un.org/rights/indigenous/mediaadv.html
Listings of International Indigenous links:
http://www.bloorstreet.com/300block/aborintl.htm#10
An Indigenous Australian online network:
http://www.ion.unisa.edu.au
An online resource for young people interested in Millenium Development Goals:
www.youngmdg.com
LETTERS TO THE VOICE
Dear Voice,
India accounts for nearly 60% of the world's wild tiger population with nearly 3000 tigers in 28 tiger reserves. A major reason for this success of tigers in India has been Project Tiger, initiated in 1973 by the late Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi with the assistance of WWF-India. Project Tiger was started with the formation of Corbett Tiger Reserve at a time when tigers in India had almost come down to three digit figures, and 32 years later with the formation of 27 more tiger reserves, tigers seemed to be thriving. However, Indian tigers today are facing a crisis. In early 2005, there was a drastic decline in the tiger population in Rajasthan state, with over 20 tigers reported missing from Sariska tiger reserve.
This was followed by the complete elimination of tigers from the Panna tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh state. There were also reports from several other tiger reserves of drastic decline in tiger populations. Initial studies suggested mass poaching to be the reason. This has raised a severe outcry from conservation groups, resulting in the intervention of the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh and the formation of a Wildlife Advisory Committee to the Ministry Of Environment and Forests and Prime Minister to assess the reasons in April 2005.
It is at this critical time in the history of Indian wildlife that we go into yet another Indian Tiger Census 2005, conducted annually in all Tiger Reserves and Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks with sizable tiger populations in India, from May 9-17 in the state. Never before has there been such interest and involvement in tiger census both by conservation groups and general citizens. Our organization, Friendship Foundation, a youth-run environmental group, is participating in and co-ordinating tiger census efforts with other NGOs in the state of Andhra Pradesh with the Forest Department in Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary and Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve, two of the four sites for this years' census in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
There is no doubt that the census this time will be closely watched by wildlife bodies and conservation NGOs, for if there is a very large reduction in the tiger populations, this may well be the first major disaster in the history of the Project Tiger, until now one of the most successful species conservation programmes in the world.
Vikram Aditya,
OIYP 2004 Action Partner, India.
Dear Voice,
I guess many things have changed in our lives after about one year and I hope we also managed to change many things in people's lives... I moved in February to New York city for an internship under the United Nations Fund for Populations (UNFPA)'s Special Youth Program and I'm working closely with Joya that you might all remember. It was so nice to see her again and to remember together OIYP's great times!!
I'm working with the Arab States Division here at UNFPA's HQ as well as the Adolescent Youth Cluster and most of my work is focusing on Youth and Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health. It's very interesting, but I really miss my patients and the hospital and I'm impatient to get back to my duties and consultations. When I go back to Morocco, I will need to do some more practice (mainly surgery and emergencies), take some exams, prepare my thesis and think of specialization. But I'm here until the end of July, so if anyone feels like visiting the Big Apple, a huge MARHABA!!!!
Imane Khachani,
OIYP 2004 Action Partner, Morocco.
EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
The Pacific HIV/AIDS Conference
The Te Whanau o te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, me te Mate Parekore - Family of the Pacific and HIV/AIDS Conference, will be held from 25-28 October 2005 in Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand.
This conference will focus on the following streams:
* Improving Care - Clinical research, treatment and care
* Engaging Communities - Health promotion, intervention and
community action
* Building Knowledge - Basic science, epidemiology and social
research
* Strengthening Leadership- Policy, leadership and human rights
For information on the abstract submission, accommodation, exhibiting, invited speakers, program, sponsorship, social program, and travel see http://www.panpacific-hivaids05.net.nz/
Youth in Social Change Tours.
The Global Youth Action Network (GYAN) is working in diverse countries around the world to organize tours for young activists, academics, philanthropists, and anyone interested in learning more about the participation of youth in social change.
The first tours will be in Brazil starting on June 23 and another on July 19. To learn more visit:
http://www.youthlink.org/tours/brazil/
Other tours are being planned for other countries as well. To learn more visit:
http://www.youthlink.org/tours/
International Environment and Disaster Management Conference.
Greetings from the World Youth Foundation, Malaysia.
An international conference on environment and disaster management will be hosted by the Foundation from 26-29th August 2005 in Melaka, Malaysia. Application forms can be found at our website at http://www.wyf.org.my.
Advocacy Networks Study.
Transnational Youth Activism is one of the most striking current examples of globalization's human networks. Increasing numbers of activists work in transnational advocacy networks that involve activists outside as well as inside the organizers' nations of origin. This study is being sponsored by Mica Pollock of the Harvard University Graduate School of Education in collaboration with the Global Youth Action Network and TakingITGlobal. It will boost the visibility of young people as actors in new and growing social movements that cross national boundaries and will ultimately strengthen our joint work. Please pass the opportunity on to others:
http://surveys.takingitglobal.org/survey.html?SurveyID=10
